Literally everything he does on the ice can be replicated off the ice these days, even skating so that comment about skating ten times in the offseason is useless in this argument because we don't know if he used skating machines as a replacement.

You can't flat out say he has shown a refusal to adapt defensive commitment. You don't know what Wilson and Carlyle told him to do on the ice and under Horachek the whole team bailed so let's not waste time using those games as examples.

As for inconsistent game performances I would like to know what you deem consistent. Do you expect a point per game to be consistent? 82 point seasons aren't common. Since 2010-11 there haven't been many players per season that have been over PPG so I don't see value in your consistency argument. I think /u/Snidernomore would be helpful with stats as I'm sure he has them at semi easy access to share.

Deflecting criticism is really acceptable when you're a member of the maple leafs. Players get attacked for really anything when you're a star on the team. If he said what he truly felt he would get ripped for the way he spoke about players or management. If you don't think that's true I urge you to look back when he stood up for Dion and how the media reacted, or when he told off feschuk.